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Monday, September 10, 2012

The times they are a-changin' ...

If you are old enough, or very wise for your young years, you will remember this ode from Bob Dylan. The song, The Times They Are A-Changin' became an anthem for frustrated youth.

The song summed up the
anti-establishment feelings of people who would later be known as
hippies. Yes, I am an old hippie - - and yes, I am having some anti-establishment feelings against myself. I have been writing this blog since June of 2005 and in fact, one of the original wine bloggers in Washington State and may be one of the few left during that time-frame (Hello Gene Stein at Seattle Wine Blog) when I first started eight years ago. Also in 2005, there were just about 300 wine bloggers anywhere and after my visit to WBC last month, no doubt the number has grown to over 1,000 wine bloggers, especially when you add independent and winery blogs.

For the last six months I have been feeling mixed between the love of only writing about the wines of Walla Walla -- also known as the "establishment." Then there is the other side of myself wanting to write beyond Walla Walla, the adventurous side of my taste buds - - also known as the "anti-establishment."

There are good things about being a little anti-establishment when it comes to writing about wine. It can broaden our education beyond the norm - - and even send us back home to the wines around us understanding that the familiar is indeed a benchmark.

In
the mean time I have seen a lot of changes in wine blogging over the years. I remember
when most people didn't even know what a blog was, let alone there was
wine being made in Walla Walla. Those who journeyed into wine blogging
soon discovered it is about dedication and consistency. To the newcomers in wine blogging who may think they know it all because they
are young and "edgy" and even to those who think they are
going to be an overnight wealthy sensation, I toss my head back and
laugh - bwahahahaha - - ha and a ha! Good luck.

Change is hard, however if we are going to preserve the things we care about, we have to be willing to change. With that said, I have already implemented some changes such as,Walla Walla Wine Word for Dummies: Weekly Wine Word Wednesdays.A blog written three to four times a month featuring a new word from the wine vocabulary.

"Beyond Walla Walla" is a new focus - also written about three to four times a month featuring wines from beyond Walla Walla. The wine can be as close to Walla Walla as Spokane, Washington or as far away from Walla Walla as Walla Walla, NSW, Australia!

Once or twice a month I will feature your cork screw in a blog titled, Get Screwed: Show Me Your Cork Screw!Yes, that's right. If you are a winery and feature a cork screw with your logo and/or name printed on it (not limited to the Walla Walla Valley), send it to me complimentary for my cork screw collection and I will write about it and your winery or maybe even video it. Oh dear, I can only imagine where my blog will end up. It won't be the first time a blog from this site was linked on a Korean porn site.

So as Bob says, "Come gather 'round people, Wherever you roam ... For the times they are a-changin'."